BAGHDAD/TEHRAN – Iraqis held a million-man march on Saturday to mark the second anniversary of the U.S. assassination top anti-terror commander, with participants and resistance groups pledging to stand firm in demanding the full withdrawal of all American-led forces from their country.
People from across the Arab country descended on the iconic Tahrir Square in the capital to participate in the “million-answer” march attended by top resistance leaders to pay tribute to Iran’s anti-terror commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Qais Khazali, the secretary general of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, said the Americans are trying to justify their military presence on the Iraqi soil, but the resistance will force them to leave “empty-handed and in disgrace”.
“We cannot accept the occupation, and you should have understood the lessons that the heroes of the resistance taught to you, and the messages sent to you by the heroes of the resistance with their missiles and drones,” he said in remarks directed at the U.S.
Addressing General Soleimani, he said, “Just as you loved the Iraqis, the honorable Iraqis love you too.”
“We are grateful to the Islamic Iran and the city of Kerman and Haj Qassem,” Khazali said, referring to the top general’s hometown in southeast Iran.

He said Soleimani and al-Muhandis were the founders of the Iraqi resistance, adding Iraq managed to defeat the Daesh terrorist group thanks to their efforts.
The participations, in their thousands, chanted anti-American slogans, calling for the expulsion of remaining U.S. troops from Iraq.
“We will not let you stay in the land of the martyrs after today,” some of the placards read. “U.S. terrorism has to end,” some other signs read.
Last month, Baghdad announced the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, but about 2,500 American soldiers and 1,000 coalition troops remain in the country under the pretext of training, advising and assisting Iraqi forces.
Iraqi resistance groups have maintained that the U.S. is merely relabeling its military forces to Iraq and have ramped up calls for the expulsion of all American forces regardless.
Pressure to drive American forces out began two days after the U.S. assassination, with the Iraqi parliament passing a bill that required the government to expel all U.S.-led foreign forces.
Addressing the rally, PMU head Falih al-Fayyadh repeated the call on the government to honor the bill and free Iraq from the foreign forces, saying any form of foreign military presence on the Iraqi land will not benefit the Iraqi people.
The withdrawal of foreign forces, he said, “is not a sentimental position, but rather aimed at protecting Iraq and its sovereignty,” al-Fayyadh said.
Al-Fayyadh also hailed a 2014 fatwa issued by prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani that called for a national war on Daesh.
Ayatollah al-Sistani’s call protected Iraq from a big menace and helped unify Iran and drive out terrorists, he said.
Secretary General of the Badr Organization Hadi al-Amiri said Ayatollah al-Sistani’s fatwa led to the liberation of Iraq.
“The Popular Mobilization Units will remain strong, no matter how many plots are hatched against it,” he added.
He also paid homage to the courageous acts of Gen. Soleimani, al-Muhandis, and their companions, saying their pure blood was a price that was paid for the expulsion of occupation forces from Iraq.
He said the two commanders live on in the conscience of the Iraqi nation. “We are determined to continue the path, and we will remain loyal to Iraq,” he added.
In Tehran, thousands of young women gathered at the 12000-seat Azadi Stadium under the banner of “Daughters of Haj Qassem” to renew allegiance to the ideals of the martyred commander.
In Syria, Christian lawmaker Lusi Iskanian praised General Soleimani for helping to extricate Christians from Daesh.
“We saw the role of Qassem Soleimani in the liberation of Saidnaya and Maaloula, whose residents were mostly Christian,” she said.
“Various accounts and stories are said by people and religious scholars about the character of Qassem Soleimani and the measures he took to restore security to their cities and churches,” she said.
Iskanian said the Iranian commander’s achievements in Syria were numerous and that under his command, the resistance forces advanced against terrorists in Damascus and its suburbs, as well as Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Dayr al-Zawr.
“The difference between Qassem Soleimani and other martyrs is that his goal in liberating the region was obvious and that he showed great humility,” she said.